Bag With Interior Pockets With Removable Nametags

ABSTRACT

A bag has a front, back and opposing sides, in which the front and back have a respective interior facing surface and an exterior facing surface. A fastener such as a pair of zippers are disposed on opposing sides joining the front and back together thereby forming a center compartment, defined by the interior facing surfaces of the front and back. When the fasteners such as the zippers are unzipped, the front and back can lie substantially flat. Advantageously one or more pockets are formed on the interior facing surface of the front or back. A plurality of tags are affixed to the pockets using an appropriate attachment device such as complementary strips of Velcro, to identify the contents of the pockets.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/251,817, filed Oct. 15, 2009, herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a bag having preferably transparent interior pockets and in particular a bag with preferably transparent interior pockets having removably attachable nametags, in which the bag can be opened to lie substantially flat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional personal bags such as handbags, courier or messenger bags, diaper bags, and the like typically have a front, back and opposing sides which define a center compartment. Inside the center compartment may include one or more sub-compartments, pouches or pockets.

One disadvantage with prior bags is that it can be difficult to easily find other items which are placed inside the bag, especially if the items are loosely placed within the center compartment. Further, if the various items are placed within one of the sub-compartments such as the interior pouches or pockets, it may be difficult to identify what may be inside the pouches or pockets. This is especially true in the case of the pouch or pocket being made of an opaque material such that one cannot view the contents inside the pouch or pocket without opening it and/or removing its contents.

A further disadvantage with current bags is that one can only open the bag a limited amount, typically at the top of the bag, in order to retrieve contents from inside the bag. As a result, one has to pry open the bag at the top, and peer inside the bag to attempt to locate the items which may be in the center compartment or within any of the sub-compartments or pouches of the interior of the bag. Alternatively, one has to blindly grope around inside the bag, attempting to find a desired item.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a bag such as a handbag, diaper bag, courier bag, or tote which allows a user to more easily store and retrieve items from within the bag. Advantageously, the present bag opens to lie substantially flat thereby allowing one to see the contents of the bag. The present bag, in one advantageous form, has a plurality of pockets or pouches on the interior facing surfaces of the bag, in which the respective pockets or pouches are labeled to identify the contents contained within. Further advantageously the pouches are composed of a transparent material so that one can view the contents contained in the pockets through the transparent material without having to open or reach inside the pouch to identify the contents contained within. In one further advantageous form, nametags which correspond to contents inside the pockets have Velcro which allows the nametags to be affixed to the pockets having a corresponding Velcro material.

The present invention, in one form thereof, includes a bag having a front, back and opposing sides. The front and back have a respective interior facing surface and an exterior facing surface. A fastener releasably joins the opposing sides, front and back, together to thereby form a center compartment, defined by the interior facing surfaces of the front and back, whereby when the fastener is released, the front and back can lie substantially flat. At least one pocket is formed on the interior facing surface of the front or back. The at least one pocket has an attachment device. A plurality of tags have a complimentary attachment device for attaching the tags to the attachment device at the at least one pocket. The plurality of tags have respective indicia which correspond to contents of the at least one pocket.

In one further advantageous form, the fasteners releasably joining the opposing sides front and back comprise a pair of zippers whereby, unzipping the zippers allow the front and back to lie substantially flat.

In one alternative further form, the at least one pocket is composed of a transparent material whereby one can view the contents inside the pocket when viewing the pocket from the interior facing surface side of the front and back.

The present invention in another form thereof relates to a bag having a front, back and opposing sides. The front and back have a respective interior facing surface and an exterior facing surface. At least one zipper is disposed on the opposing sides, releasably joining the opposing sides front and back together to thereby form a center compartment, defined by the interior facing surfaces of the front and back. Unzipping the zipper allows the front and back to lie substantially flat. A plurality of pockets are formed on the interior facing surfaces of the front or back. The plurality of pockets have a respective piece of Velcro. A plurality of tags have a complimentary piece of Velcro for attaching the tags to the piece of Velcro of the plurality of pockets. The plurality of tags have respective indicia which correspond to contents of the plurality of pockets. In one further form, the at least one zipper comprises two zippers, one on each of the opposing sides.

The present bag offers features and advantages not found in prior bags which include a plurality or series of individual clear pockets on the interior facing surface of the bag. These pockets are easily accessible when the bag is opened, i.e., the fastener joining the front, back and opposing sides together, e.g., a zipper is unzipped, thereby allowing the bag to fully open and lie substantially flat. Contents are maintained within each respective pocket via a flap having advantageously, in one form, Velcro which allows the closing flap to cover the opening to the respective pockets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a bag shown in a closed position in accordance with the present invention and FIG. 1B is a partial perspective view of the bag in FIG. 1A, further depicting an optional shoulder strap, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the bag in FIG. 1A shown in a partially opened position in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the bag of FIG. 1A in a partially opened position showing an interior facing surface of a back of the bag of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the bag of FIG. 1A shown in a completely opened position in which the bag is lying substantially flat;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a changing mat in accordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one of the pouches of the bag of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 7A-7D are perspective views of alternative bags in accordance with the present invention in which FIG. 7A is a tote, FIG. 7B is a hobo style bag, FIG. 7C is a retro-style bag, and FIG. 7D is a courier bag; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view depicting various tags in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described in accordance with the several views of the figures. Referring to the figures and in particular FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, bag 10 has a front 12, back 14 and opposing sides 16 and 18. A fastener, such as a pair of zippers 20, 22 are disposed on respective opposing sides 16, 18. Zippers 20, 22 have respective pull tabs 21, 23. Although bag 10 has a pair of zippers 20, 22, in an alternative form, a single zipper can extend from the base of the bag, up one side, across the top of the bag and then down the opposing side. As a second alternative, rather than one or more zippers, the fastener can be Velcro or any other appropriate fastener in accordance with the present disclosure.

The bag 10 has a pair of handles 24 and a pair of D-rings 26 for affixing a shoulder strap 28 (FIG. 1B).

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, along with FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, the front 12 has an exterior facing surface 30 and a front interior facing surface 31. The back 14 has a back exterior facing surface 32 and a back interior facing surface 33.

The opposing left side and right side 16, 18 have a gusset 40 formed at a junction of the front 12, back 14 and sides 18, 20 at a base of the bag 10. When the zippers 20, 22 are unzipped, the gussets 40 allow the bag 10 to lie substantially flat.

A plurality of pockets 50 are disposed on the front and back interior facing surfaces 31, 33. A flap 52 extends from the front and back interior facing surfaces 31, 33 and extends over opening 54. The flap 52 has a piece of Velcro 53 which is disposed on the surface facing a complimentary piece of Velcro 55 disposed on pockets 50 thereby allowing the flap 52 to releasably be affixed to pockets 50. Flap 52 also includes a second piece of Velcro 58 for affixing one of a plurality of tags 60 to the Velcro 58.

Advantageously, pockets 50 and flaps 52 are composed of a transparent material which include but is not limited to various plastics or polymers including polyvinylchloride (PVC). The transparent material allows one to view contents of the pockets 50 without opening the pocket, i.e., removing flap 52 from pocket Velcro 55 in order to see the contents within the pocket 50. The size and dimensions of the pockets 50 can vary based on a particular need. For example, FIG. 4 depicts eight clear pockets 50 having different sizes.

In addition to the clear pockets 50 with flaps 52, pocket 70 has an elastic band 72 cinching opening 74 thereby keeping contents within pocket 70.

Referring to FIG. 4 along with FIG. 8, in one advantageous form, the pocket Velcro strip 58 is sufficiently large in order to accommodate attaching at least two tags 60. Having a sufficiently large Velcro strip 58 allows one to affix two appropriate tags 60 in order to identify the respective pocket 50 contains the contents corresponding to the two tags affixed to the pocket 50. For example, if the pocket contains both formula and snacks, one can affix the appropriate tags for snacks 62 and formula 64 to a single Velcro strip 58 thereby identifying the respective pocket 50 as containing both snacks and formula.

A pair of complimentary fasteners such as snaps 36 a, 36 b are located on the front and back interior facing surfaces 31, 33 which, when snaps 36 a, 36 b, are mated, the snaps 36 a, 36 b join the front 12 and back 14 together thereby maintaining contents within an interior space formed between the front 12, back 14 and opposing left and right sides 16, 18. In particular, snaps 36 a, 36 b close an opening to a center compartment 37 (FIGS. 1A, 1B), defined by the interior facing surfaces 31, 33 and opposing sides 12, 14.

A slit 80 is formed in the liner 82 of the back interior facing surface 33 thereby forming a pouch 84. Advantageously, the pouch 84 is of sufficient size to accommodate a changing mat 90 (FIG. 5). Although the changing mat 90 may have dimensions 22 inches×16½ inches and the mat can be folded in half in order to have a folded dimensions of 11 inches×16½ inches to thereby more easily fit in pouch 84, pouch 84 can accommodate other sized dimensioned changing pads including changing pads with dimensions of at least 10 inches×10 inches. The changing mat 90 may have a poly-filled covering with a rip-stop lining material.

It will now be clear that the present bag offers features and advantages not found in prior bags. The plurality of tags 60 having Velcro sewn into the back of each tag allows the tags 60 to be affixed to various pockets 50 inside the bag 10 thereby identifying the contents contained within the respective pockets 50. As a result, one will know what is inside the pocket without having to open the pocket and look in or remove its contents in order to identify the contents within the pocket.

Further, one will easily understand that aspects of the present bag can be adapted to different style bags including but not limited to the ones of FIGS. 7A-7D such as the tote of FIG. 7A, the hobo bag of FIG. 7B, the retro-style bag of FIG. 7C and the messenger or courier bag of FIG. 7D.

In addition to the tags 60 shown in FIG. 8, other tags include but are not limited to blackberry, wallet, cell phone, keys, make up, checkbook, medicine, lotion, hand sanitizer, lip gloss, girl stuff, gum and candy, contact lenses, snacks and pen and paper.

One additional novel aspect of the present bag is that one can use the tags to label contents to be put inside the bag thus acting as a checklist of items to be later inserted into the respective pockets. Accordingly, one can first label the various pockets with the appropriate tags and then load the respective pockets with the corresponding items to the previously tag labeled pockets.

Although the invention has been described above in relation to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be effected in these preferred embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. 

1. A bag comprising: a front, back, and opposing sides, the front and back having a respective interior facing surface and an exterior facing surface; a fastener releasably joining the opposing sides, front and back, together to thereby form a center compartment, defined by the interior facing surfaces of the front and back, whereby when the fastener is released, the front and back can lie substantially flat; at least one pocket formed on the interior facing surface of the front or back, the at least one pocket having an attachment device; and a plurality of tags having a complementary attachment device for attaching to the attachment device of the at least one pocket, the plurality of tags having respective indicia which correspond to contents of the at least one pocket.
 2. The bag of claim 1, wherein the fastener releasably joining the opposing sides, front and back, comprises at least one zipper disposed on the opposing sides, whereby, unzipping the at least one zipper allows the front and back to lie substantially flat.
 3. The bag of claim 2, wherein the opposing sides terminate at respective gussets at a junction of the front, back and respective opposing sides and each of the zippers terminate at one of the respective gussets, respectively, whereby, when the zippers are open, and the bag is lying flat, the gussets form the junction of the front, back and respective opposing sides.
 4. The bag of claim 1, wherein the fastener is Velcro.
 5. The bag of claim 1, wherein at least one pocket is composed of a transparent material whereby one can view contents inside the pocket when viewing the pocket from the interior facing surface side of the front and back.
 6. The bag of claim 5, wherein the transparent material is PVC.
 7. The bag of claim 5, wherein the at least one pocket comprises a flap which extends from the interior facing surface, over an opening of the at least one pocket.
 8. The bag of claim 7, wherein the flap is composed of a transparent material.
 9. The bag of claim 7, wherein the flap has a fastener which mates with a complementary fastener of the at least one pocket, thereby releasably affixing the flap over the at least one pocket.
 10. The bag of claim 7, wherein the flap fastener is composed of Velcro which mates with a complimentary piece of Velcro of the at least one pocket.
 11. The bag of claim 1, wherein the attachment device of the at least one pocket accommodates attachment of at least two tags.
 12. The bag of claim 1, further comprising a slit in a lining of one of the front interior facing surfaces and the back interior facing surfaces, defining a pouch.
 13. The bag of claim 12, wherein the pouch is of sufficient size to accommodate a changing pad having dimensions of at least 10″ by 10″.
 14. A bag comprising: a front, back, and opposing sides, the front and back having a respective interior facing surface and an exterior facing surface; at least one zipper disposed on the opposing sides, and releasably joining the opposing sides, front and back, together to thereby form a center compartment, defined by the interior facing surfaces of the front and back, wherein, unzipping the at least one zipper allows the front and back to lie substantially flat; a plurality of pockets formed on the interior facing surfaces of the front or back, the plurality of pockets having a piece of Velcro; and a plurality of tags having a complementary piece of Velcro for attaching to the piece of Velcro of the plurality of pockets, the plurality of tags having respective indicia which corresponds to contents of the plurality of pockets.
 15. The bag of claim 14, wherein the opposing sides terminate at respective gussets at a junction of the front, back and respective opposing sides and each of the zippers terminate at one of the respective gussets, whereby, when the zippers are open, and the bag is lying flat, the gussets form the junction of the front, back and respective opposing sides.
 16. The bag of claim 14, wherein the plurality of pockets comprise a flap which extends from the interior facing surface, over an opening of the at least one pocket.
 17. The bag of claim 14, wherein the Velcro of the plurality of pockets, each accommodate attachment of at least two tags.
 18. The bag of claim 14, further comprising a slit in a lining of one of the front interior facing surfaces and the back interior facing surfaces, defining a pouch.
 19. The bag of claim 12, wherein the pouch is of sufficient size to accommodate a changing pad having dimensions of at least 10″ by 10″.
 20. The bag of claim 14, wherein the at least one zipper comprises a pair of zippers, one disposed on a respective one of the opposing sides.
 21. The bag of claim 1, wherein the at least one zipper comprises a pair of zippers, one disposed on a respective one of the opposing sides. 